In-situ water and ion induced mediation of crystallization and crystal phases in of biobased polyamides for enhanced polymeric capacitors

Energy storage materials are crucial for advancing the global energy transition, yet capacitor dielectrics suffer from low energy densities, limiting their efficiency in high-power applications. To address this, we leveraged a molecular design that enhances polarizability across multiple length scales, through electronic polarization (aromatic), atomic and orientational polarization (polar groups), as well as by introducing progressive polarization vectors (uneven-numbered building blocks) in the amorphous and crystalline phase. 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is unique. While furanamides possess better thermal properties compared to their polyester counterparts, intramolecular hydrogen bonds tend to disrupt crystallization. This issue can be mitigated by water and/or ions that mediate (temporarily) these bonds and enhance conformational motion and so crystallization. The aim is to understand the effect of water and ions on crystallization of FDCA based polyamides using SAXS/WAXS.